Crude oil retreats on Friday, up 1.1% for the week
|- WTI heads for third weekly gain in a row, consolidating above $70.00.
- BB rig count showed no change, crude remained steady after data.
The WTI barrel is about to end the week with a gain of $1 a barrel or 1.1%. On Thursday it reached a multi-year high at $72.25 but failed to hold on top of $72.00 and pulled back. On Friday dropped modestly, finding support at $71.00.
During the American session, crude fell to $71.00, the lowest since Wednesday and then bounced to the upside. Near the end of the week it was hovering around $71.40. Crude held above $70.00 and close to multi-year highs despite the stronger US Dollar. In Europe, the Brent barrel lost almost 1% on Friday following a correction from levels on top of $80.00 (highest since 2014).
Data released on Friday showed that oil rigs remained at 844 compared to last week data. At the beginning of April the oil rig count was 797. The data had no impact. Natural gas rigs rose from 199 to 200.
WTI Technical levels
In the short-term, the immediate support is seen at $71.00 (May 18 low) followed by $70.75 and $70.20 (May 14 low). To the upside, resistances levels might be located at $71.50, $71.70 and $72.30 (May 17 high).
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